Dead Presidents

I don’t believe there are any photos that have been released publicly of Reagan after that February 2000 photo.  By that time, I believe his Alzheimer’s had progressed to a point where he no longer recognized anybody.  In January 2001, I know that Reagan had a bad fall and not only broke his hip, but broke that ball joint in his hip.  After that, I think he was confined to a wheelchair and largely bedridden.  Reagan himself was very image-conscious and had made it clear to his family that he wanted Americans to remember him how he was and not as a sick old man, so I’d be surprised if we ever see any photos of a Reagan from after that 2000 birthday photo.

I know that there are photos of Reagan with a young George W. Bush (when George H.W. Bush was Vice President).  I’m pretty certain that George W. Bush never visited Reagan during Bush 43’s Presidency; Reagan was too ill by that point.  I know that Clinton visited Reagan early in Clinton’s Presidency, and there’s a story in Bob Woodward’s The Choice where Bob Dole talks about visiting Reagan during the 1996 campaign and being astonished at how far gone Reagan was by that point, and that was eight years before Reagan died.

Random note: Gerald Ford’s last public appearance was in May 2006 when President Bush visited him at Ford’s home in Rancho Mirage.  Ford was very frail by that point [although he still actually looked pretty damn good for a man who was nearly 93] and had to hold hands with President Bush for support, but that’s the last photo that we have of Ford.